ICC suspend Hafeez from bowling third time in three years

Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has been suspended once again for his illegal bowling action.

This is the third time in three years that Hafeez has been suspended from bowling in international matches. Earlier, in November 2014, he was reported during a Test series against New Zealand and he was first suspended from bowling in December 2014.

In April 2015, his refurbished action was found to be legal by the ICC and he was cleared to bowl.

Hafeez was suspended for the second time after an independent assessment revealed that he had employed an illegal bowling action after being reported in the Galle Test v Pakistan in June 2015. As this was his second suspension within 24 months of the initial suspension in December 2014, he was suspended from bowling in international cricket for 12 months from July 2015.

On 17 November 2016, Hafeez underwent a reassessment of his bowling action at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and was allowed to resume bowling after his action was found to be legal.

This report is deemed to be the first report and the procedure outlined in clause 4.1 of the ICC Illegal Bowling Regulations shall now apply.

The assessment revealed that a majority of Hafeez’s deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the ICC’s regulations.

As per ICC regulations, an Illegal Bowling Action is where a player is throwing rather than bowling the ball. This is defined by the ICC as being where the player’s elbow extends by an amount of more than 15 degrees between their arm reaching the horizontal and the ball being released.